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"Fastlane" is an entrepreneur discussion forum based on The Unscripted Entrepreneurial Framework (TUNEF) outlined in the two best-selling books by MJ DeMarco (The Millionaire Fastlane and UNSCRIPTED™). From multimillionaires to digital nomads, the forum features real entrepreneurs creating real businesses.

I know we are talking a lot about the definition of "fastlane" versus "slowlane" so could those who are out, list the age they were when they exited the rat race?

I know a lot of people who get out in their 30's - 40's and it seems that they had some seed $$ to go from (equity, insurance, appreciated 401k) that they then applied to fastlane investments to get free.

But those that start with nothing and get free in a few years (MJ) are few and far between?

I was in college at the time on a scholarship and working a full time job. After seeing the 'job postings' available for grads and how low the starting pay was I laughed and asked why I was doing this. I ended up quitting school and starting my own biz and ate ramon noodles, still working a full time job and spent every dime I made into my new business. From there I eventually quit my job, never turned back, and knew I would never work for someone else again.

I was in college at the time on a scholarship and working a full time job. After seeing the 'job postings' available for grads and how low the starting pay was I laughed and asked why I was doing this. I ended up quitting school and starting my own biz and ate ramon noodles, still working a full time job and spent every dime I made into my new business. From there I eventually quit my job, never turned back, and knew I would never work for someone else again.

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Shawn,

I think Lance is not referring to rat race in terms of owning a business, but in reference to Robert Kiyosaki meaning Your Passive Income (doing nothing) exceeds your Living expenses. Meaning, if you don't work for the rest of your life, you're lifestyle wouldn't change and the income would keep flowing. If you did indeed hit that at age 20, congrats to you! Very impressive!!! :eusa_clap:

For me, I can't figure out when I officially left. If you enjoy your work, you never officially leave - you just do your own thing, on your own time. That said, I was probably 31 or 32 years old. I sold my business because the joy of its work disappeared, and no monthly income could eradicate that fact.

Also, Lance, I'm surprised you have no speed so I'm giving you some -- both for this post and for your service to the country. Speed++

MJ

What if life wasn't just about paying bills and then dying?Burn life's SCRIPT and learn how to build a business that pays more than money; it pays freedom.Unscripted: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Entrepreneurship-----------------------------------------------------
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I think Lance is not referring to rat race in terms of owning a business, but in reference to Robert Kiyosaki meaning Your Passive Income (doing nothing) exceeds your Living expenses. Meaning, if you don't work for the rest of your life, you're lifestyle wouldn't change and the income would keep flowing.

Our youngest child graduated from college when I was 44 so I guess that would be when. We made lots of passive income before then but we put 3 kids through college with no student loans so we were not free until then.
Janet

34 was when our passive income exceeded expenses.
But we weren't fastlane.
Took us 13 years and a fairly modest lifestyle
(I'm a hamburger gal, no steak for me, personal preference).

Having flunked "retirement",
I write during the summer and take contract gigs during the rest of the year.
(Plus I have a couple ventures on the go).
The hubby will work at a job until mandatory retirement age.
He likes the social aspect of it.

I was out of the rat race when I was 21. ...Back in when I was 23. Why? Because based on the knowledge I had at the time, I couldn't duplicate what I had done. Turns out that experience lead me to Rich Dad, Poor Dad where learned a lot and wouldn't do it any other way. I could probably be out of the rat race in the very near future, but am far from being in the fastlane- although that's where my focus is.

MJ-I gotta say, I love the added category of fastlane as a track outside of the fast track. Just this simple shift in semantics has changed my world view.

"Instead of wondering where your next vacation is, maybe you ought to set up a life you don't need to escape from." ~Seth Godin

We hope to be out of the "rat race" (i.e., living solely off passive income) within the next 3-5 years.

I have owned my own businesses since college (1979/80), but I've always had to work for a living, even if I was self-employed.

When I moved to the Napa Valley in 1995, I had gotten to the point where most folks would consider me "retired": I spent most of my time lounging in a hammock, crankin' up the BBQ, reading all kinds of stuff, and driving my Karmann Ghia convertible up and down the Silverado Trail (very relaxing).

Between 1995 and 2001, I worked, on average, about 3-5 hours a week. The rest of the time I played. My business brought in anywheres from $150-500K before expenses (*damn* those pre-tax expenses! ). Even with all of those pre-tax expenses, I was netting six figures a year.

Then I decided to sell one of my houses, and truly retire (in 2002).

Problem was, I couldn't.

I was waaaaaaaay too bored.

So my then GF and I started to make plans for raising a family, and what we'd like to do (live in different parts of the world as we raised our kids, 1 yr in Paris, another in Australian wine country, another on the beach-- you get the idea). To do this, we needed a decent amount of passive income, not just a minimal 20-40K/year (which is where I was, had I invested my net worth into T Bills at the time).

So we embarked on a new adventure: Running a Bed & Breakfast Inn in Napa.

We took a year to find the right property (02-03), and finally got our present place in Nov of 2003.

We've been working around the clock since then.

Definitely not boring-- but not retired, by a long shot!

We hit our "we can retire now" amount ($2M) in 2005. That would have given us $100K a year in passive income from 5% T Bills.

But we were having so much fun doing the B&B thing we decided to take it to the next level.

So that's what we're doing now. On our way to developing properties that are going to be worth about $5M after taxes.

We figure $5M x 5% = $250K/yr is going to be enough to live on while traveling the world. :banana:

The hubby and I thought we were SO smart
and had it all figured out.
Build up investments, live off them, do nothing.
Then we reached that point
and the hubby asked "Do I HAVE to retire?"
I said, "well, no, but you don't HAVE to work either."

At that point, we took the foot off the gas pedal
and started ventures for the interest,
rather than the money
(i.e. for me, that was the writing).
We live off the hubby's salary
and the investments simply grow.
Maybe someday we'll use the income.
Maybe someday we won't.

Are we Russ level wealthy?
Nope.
But if we were Russ level wealthy, we'd simply donate more money.
Wouldn't make a difference to our standard of living.

Currently I'm shooting for a realistic goal of out of the Rat Race in 4 years. Enough passive income to outweighing my expenses would be minimal right now as I'm living a relatively low standard of living in comparison to my ambitions. Not that the money matters in its own right, just the freedom and opportunities that it affords. I guess for me there is quite a margin between being out of the Rat Race and being in the Fastlane.

I know a lot of people who get out in their 30's - 40's and it seems that they had some seed $$ to go from (equity, insurance, appreciated 401k) that they then applied to fastlane investments to get free.

But those that start with nothing and get free in a few years (MJ) are few and far between?

Lance

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This is really the way I think I am realistically going to have to do it. I'm not the type of guy to start a website or other business while still working my day job. I've got a wife, 2 little ones, and an 8-to-5. I know that these are probably weak excuses holding me back, but this is what I am facing.

I am building "seed capital" in the slow lane through a good job, equity, Roth, 401k, options trading, and increasing credit lines. I'm looking to use that in a fastlane investment by the age of 35. I think lots of people have used SFR houses to get the seed capital and 1031ing it to a fastlane investment. I also have SFR rentals, but because of the way I bought them, I consider them slowlane.

I'm still working on it, but I'm proud that I've made demonstrable progress. I've reduced my expenses to what I consider the bare minimum, and I've developed revenue streams that give me approximately 10% of what I need in passive income. And it's TRUE passive income, internet revenue streams that would continue even if I was vacationing in the Caribbean.

Now I just need to duplicate and multiply my efforts!

It's unbelievable exciting when you get that first passive income stream going and you realize you will have that money coming in whether you put any more effort into it or not =).

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The Fastlane Forum is an entrepreneur discussion forum based on the UNSCRIPTED® Entrepreneurial Framework outlined in the best-selling books The Millionaire Fastlane (2011) and UNSCRIPTED (2017).Learn More